胞

Phono-semantic compound consisting of:

肉 (⺼, 고기 육) — semantic component indicating flesh or body parts.

包 (쌀 포) — phonetic component, meaning “to wrap, to enclose.”

Together they mean “flesh that encloses”, referring to the membranous flesh that envelops the fetus — the placenta.

From this root meaning, it naturally came to symbolize shared birth and thus kinship or common origin.

“包而生者曰胞” — “That which wraps and gives birth is called 胞.”

同胞 (동포) — people born of the same parents; compatriots

胞胎 (포태) — embryo, fetus

胞兄 / 胞弟 (포형 / 포제) — elder / younger brother of same parents

胞姊 / 胞妹 (포자 / 포매) — elder / younger sister of same parents

細胞 (세포) — cell (biology)

胞衣 (포의) — afterbirth, placenta membrane

胞中 (포중) — within the womb

胞族 (포족) — clan of close kin

In classical Chinese philosophy, 胞 evokes the idea of unity through shared birth — both biological and moral.

視天下猶一家，視中國猶一人之身，則其同胞也。

“To regard the world as one family and all under Heaven as parts of a single body — that is true kinship” — Mencius (孟子).

Here, 同胞 (동포) expands from literal siblings to the Confucian cosmology of human solidarity, expressing the vision of “one womb under Heaven.”

Daoist and Neo-Confucian texts often use 胞 to illustrate interconnected life — the notion that every being exists within the great womb of the Dao (道).

天地一胞，萬物同根。

“Heaven and Earth are one womb; all things share one root.”

This metaphor reflects the principle of cosmic interdependence — that life, like cells within a body, thrives through mutual connection.

Modern reinterpretation — “cell” (細胞)

In the late 19th century, as Western biology entered East Asia, scholars coined 細胞 to translate cell, drawing on the ancient sense of enclosing organic membrane.

Thus, the metaphor of the womb evolved naturally into the cell — the smallest living container.

細胞者，生物之基本單位也。

“The cell is the fundamental unit of life.”